News Articles

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017Why are some people so difficult to work with? Ever wonder why some folks can drive us crazy while others can leave us feeling happy? It’s because each of us is wired differently and when we meet people who are wired opposite to us, we can’t relate and it can drive us crazy…
The final four Hero Habits #4-7 will help you understand the

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017Summer is zooming by! Back to school sales will be up in the next two weeks and then before you can blink, it will be back to Chi-beria and time to look forward to the holidays! July is the best time to get to work on the details for your company holiday party to secure the space, date and time that will ensure the highest turnout. After all, high turnout

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017Question: We have some new staff that joined our organization fresh from college. While they are quite intelligent, they have limited business experience. How would you suggest we help them “Learn the Ropes” so they are more valuable to us quickly?
Answer: One of the best ways to help any new staff grow within the organization is to assign a

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Tuesday, July 11, 2017In today’s workforce, the demographic of employees is becoming much more diverse. People from all different cultures, ages, economic status and gender are coming together to create successful businesses. It is important for creativity and idea generation to have a diverse workforce.
At the Summit, not only are we a Certified Women’s Owned

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Tuesday, July 11, 2017Question: During the Summer it seems there are not as many networking opportunities. How can I stay connected with my colleagues and expand my network?
Answer: With the weather being more conducive to be outside you need to pick activities that match with the weather. Consider getting three of your business colleagues out on the golf course. That gives you

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Tuesday, July 11, 2017Creating an experiential atmosphere for your attendees is what turns an event into a production that keeps everyone on their toes!
As we approach the third quarter of 2017, it’s hard to believe the amazing things events have evolved into and will continue to become. More and more money is being spent around the atmosphere of event design. Planners

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Tuesday, June 27, 2017Question: It has been some time since I was in school and feel that I need to update part of my knowledge. Can you give me some idea of how I might get started?
Answer: The first place to start begins with identifying what you feel you want to learn and how you can build time in your schedule to complete the work. There are options now that let you work

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Tuesday, June 27, 2017What’s an IPA?
Your first thought was probably not the International Phoenician Alphabet. Was it India Pale Ale - the most popular type of craft beer?
Now that you’re feeling thirsty, here’s a three-part recipe to craft and serve flavor full event experiences.
First presented at MPI Potomac’s MACE17 conference, IPA Leadership

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Tuesday, June 13, 2017Logistical issues that arise the day of the event may involve the simplest of miscommunication but create the biggest headaches. Ask the caterer these three questions for a successful event!
Question #1: What time will you arrive?
Your caterer should always communicate the time they need to arrive, unload, and begin to prepare in order to fulfill the

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Tuesday, June 13, 2017You had a bad feeling about that client before you started, but you went against your gut and took the project anyway. Now you are knee deep in challenges and your inner villain is weaving a story about how your client is trying to sabotage you…
How can you shift from Assuming Negative Intent to Assuming Positive Intent?
Here are three keys to

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Tuesday, June 13, 2017Technology devices can be very helpful for meeting professionals. From planning events to execution, these devices can help make your jobs more effective.
Every week seems to bring new technology devices that are dominating the tech world and are things that can be used to not only make the job of meeting professionals easier but make your life easier!

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017When developing a RFP, we discussed asking yourself the following five questions:
What is the vision of the program and what are the goals of the meeting?
What innovations do you want to bring to this meeting?
Do you really need to consider 10 destinations?
Do you send the RFP to both the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)/Destination Marketing

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017Question: Recently I went through a career changing experience and I have to tell you it came as quite a shock. How do you suggest I get my focus back and start the process of finding a new career?
Answer: If you have been with an organization for a long time, it is be a real shock if the company decided they wanted to part ways with you. First be aware

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017Remember your last brutal day at work? That’s great…because we need to be challenged otherwise we get bored, complacent and lazy. But when is too much challenge bad for us? If it’s causing unrelenting stress, frustration and overwhelm that’s a sign it’s gone too far…
I’ve been there. My life had turned into a

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017Your event communication strategy should not only include a detailed timeline, but a plan for the types of communication tools that will be utilized throughout the show cycle. Here is a list of some key tools to communicate with your attendees:
Websites
It is important to dedicate a prominent page on your organization’s website for your upcoming

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017Question: I have seen the notices for the event at Top Golf but am unsure about the format of the event. Can you shed some light on it?
Answer: The Top Golf facility is a two story building offering either the opportunity to hit balls in a warm environment as a straight driving range or in a precision shot format. For someone who does not play golf

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017Truth: Social influencers are already at your meeting or event.
So...what happens when you turn on social influencer marketing?
One study shows social influencer marketing delivers 11x higher returns than any other form of digital marketing ROI.
Social influencers can unlock many benefits for event marketers, including. . .
Focused promotion
Closer

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017Local industry professional and friend to many of us, Maureen Beck passed away May 5, 2017, from cancer. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.
For those who knew Maureen, your introduction likely occurred while she worked with her sister Barb Thavis at Select Meeting Sites. For many years the “site selection sisters”

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Tuesday, May 2, 2017When developing a RFP, we discussed asking yourself the following five questions:
What is the vision of the program and what are the goals of the meeting?
What innovations do you want to bring to this meeting?
Do you really need to consider 10 destinations?
Do you send the RFP to both the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)/Destination Marketing

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Tuesday, May 2, 2017Remember the last time a client request put you over the edge. It was just a little thing, but you said something you shouldn’t have or you reacted in a way that just wasn’t you. Why did it happen? How can you avoid feeling the regret? I asked myself that same question and I ended up writing Hero Habits: The Guide to Surviving THRIVING in

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Tuesday, May 2, 2017Each year, the Meeting Design Institute in Belgium hosts the Fresh Conference, a conference for planners focused on the latest trends and tools for effective meetings and events. This year organizers tried a new format for the two-day event. Rather than gathering in one location, they selected five cities—London, Lisbon (Portugal), Brussels (Belgium),

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017The reality of today’s business world is that many of us spend more time working on a computer than with real people; the entire workday seems to revolve around your desktop, laptop, iPad and mobile. Screens and technology have enabled people to be closer together than ever before – instantaneously – but they also lack a key, irreplaceable

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017Ever wondered what to do at a Golf Scramble? Below are questions and answers on how to attend that may help you plan a golf event also.
Question: I have seen the announcement for the MPI-CAC Golf Classic and my colleague and I are considering attending. Can you please explain the format of the event?
Answer: The event is set up as a Scramble which means

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Tuesday, April 18, 2017A picture is worth a thousand words…
Using Instagram in meetings is a great way to encourage networking, soliciting feedback and creating a buzz around the meeting.
Instagram is a powerful tool to visually attract potential attendees to come to your next event, but it only works if you know how to use it. From the planning stage, to the execution,

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Tuesday, April 4, 2017As Sales Professionals we bring in the business based on the onsite team’s performance and interaction with our clients. Attendees are what keeps meetings coming back and builds loyalty to a venue. It is essential to have the leadership skills to train your onsite staff and give them the confidence to make decisions that will elevate the client

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Tuesday, April 4, 2017Question: We are in the planning stages of our next annual company meeting. In the past I have heard people say they attend because they must but do not get much from the meeting. How can I get my people more engaged?
Answer: When you have an annual meeting many times the efforts tend to be more focused on social activities for people to mingle than on the

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Tuesday, March 21, 2017In my first article, we talked about what to think about before you build your RFP. The five questions to start with were:
What is the vision of the program and what are the goals of the meeting?
What innovations do you want to bring to this meeting?
Do you really need to consider 10 destinations?
Do you send the RFP to both the Convention and Visitors

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Tuesday, March 21, 2017Meeting Professionals International (MPI) members are giving of their time and money to many different organizations. These generous people are inspiring others to give back. MPI is full of passionate people wanting to get involved. I am always interested in ways I can give back so I interviewed the owner of our company Louise Silberman who is involved

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Tuesday, March 21, 2017Professional friends, is that even possible and do they mix? Or in reality is this mentoring? Young or old, new or veteran to the industry, we all can learn from each other.
Friendship through mentoring is an important part of our industry.
Establishing a reputation as a leader creates an opportunity for you to be viewed by your peers as someone they

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Tuesday, March 7, 2017Many studies show that while Millennials are a generation of entrepreneurs, Gen Z will be even more entrepreneurial than any other cohort. This is a shift from the typical 9-5 at a corporate company to people wanting to work for themselves, create their own hours and even work remotely from anywhere in the world.
A quote I really think showcases the why

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Tuesday, March 7, 2017Our industry is filled with people, vendors, attendees, clients and friends, the best of the best. However after a discussion with a professional friend, I realized that even when surrounded by people every day, an event professional life can be lonely and how important the MPI community was to not only professional, but personal growth.
My friend owns his

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Tuesday, March 7, 2017Question #1 – What is the vision of the program and what are the goals of the meeting?
There is no doubt, that this can be a hard or easy question to answer depending on who you are planning the meeting for and with.
As most meetings serve several purposes with many key decision makers, you have a unique opportunity to lead the decision makers

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017Question: We are in the planning stages of our next annual company meeting. In the past I have heard people say they attend because they must but do not get much from the meeting. How can I get my people more engaged?
Answer: When you have an annual meeting many times the efforts tend to be more focused on social activities for people to mingle than on the

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017The MPI-CAC Winter Knowledge Share took place on February 8th at the iconic Second City-Up Comedy Club located at the corner of North and Wells. Over 100 event professionals attended the sold out event, which was expertly coordinated by the MPI Education committee led by Brooke Weidman from W Hotels and Lindsay Woike from American College of Healthcare

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017Be sure to stop by Roger Haskett’s talk “Create Engagement’ at the upcoming NEXT2017 MPI event in Chicago. Roger has a passion for helping people find and act on engagement. Be ready for a fun filled session that incorporates music, games, trivia and more to meet his promise that ‘it will be a blast!’
Roger, a teacher and an

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017Chances are that you can picture the event you are planning in your mind before the first vendor calls you back with pricing. Whether the event is a wedding, small outdoor concert, or a corporate meeting, you can visualize the ideal experience for the guests and how you want everything laid out at the venue. From the tables and centerpieces to the

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017JFK (Just For Kicks), I wanted to write an article for MPI (Meeting Professionals International) about popular slang words and acronyms. AFAIK (As Far As I know) many people don’t know what a lot of these words mean. I also included some industry terms in case the slang terms are not of interest. I am hoping you at least understand the Millennials

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Monday, January 23, 2017Welcome to my column on meeting and event sourcing. I look forward to bringing you tips and ideas to help book your next meeting of any size and shape. Having been both a supplier and planner, I hope to provide you with insight that makes it easier for you to find the perfect place for your next event. To start off the New Year, I would like to give you 5

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Monday, January 23, 2017In the beginning there were landlines and it was good! Then came the fax- and so, too the computer, crawling and gnawing its way from a primordial techno-ooze, ever adapting and mutating. Much as life requires a stimulus to grow, as our need for ever faster communication increased, so did the response to that need grow; ever faster, eventually smaller and

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Monday, January 23, 2017Question: We are a mature organization having been founded over 50 years ago. We are finding that our conference attendance has continued to decline and those who attend our events do not seem to be as engaged in the agenda. How do we solve this problem?
Answer: One thing that you must remember is that your audience is your brand. If you do not give them

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Wednesday, January 11, 2017Question: We recently went through some rather severe weather. How should we manage our operations when it is not safe for people to be outside and travel to work?
Answer: First let me suggest that you verify with your staff that they have a computer at home with internet access. Your Internal Systems should have the ability for remote access even if it is

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Wednesday, January 11, 20172016 has come and gone- and I’m not sure anyone will miss it (how could you have taken Bowie!?), but now it’s time to look ahead to a brighter future- here’s to 2017 being a banner year! And while the United States will still be figuring out where it stands on climate change and the Paris agreements, we spoke with Ryan Sands who has

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Wednesday, January 11, 2017If you really want to continue to grow or start your career and build your professional image MPI is the place to be. The Chicago Area Chapter offers a wider compliment of member organizations to help you expand your industry connections. It is also the largest organization of its type in the region.
Planners have a need to find vendors who are up to date

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Wednesday, June 8, 2016The 2016-2017 MPI-CAC Calendar of Events is now available. Download it now and save these dates to your calendar! Note: dates, events and venues are subject to change
MPI-CAC Calendar of Events